Discrimination on grounds of religion

ECJ examines discrimination on grounds of headscarf

A receptionist at a security company had refused to take off her headscarf at work, whereupon she was dismissed. In regard to this, a request for a preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice was initiated. According to the Advocate General of the ECJ, this case neither constitutes direct nor indirect discrimination within the meaning of Directive 2000/78/EC. The lawyer Dr. Sabine Berghahn has published a critical statement concerning the opinion and recommendations of the Advocate General, which can be found here.

Are you unaffiliated with any religion or belong to another than the Christian church?

Have you applied for a position in a church-related institution (Caritas or Diakonie) that officially required a membership in a Christian church in its tender? Had the respective activity no specific reference to the exercise of faith? Have you not been invited for an interview or got rejected having the impression that this was due to your non-Christian religious affiliation or not being affiliated to any religion?

Have you not been taken into account in an application process due to wearing a headscarf?

In these cases discrimination within the scope of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) might have occurred.

If you are considering legal action against this, we will be most glad to advise you on how to proceed.